Episcopal bishop juggles rift, ministry
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Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori
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Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori came to Pittsburgh to talk about the love of Jesus, but knew she would face questions about property litigation and rifts in the worldwide Anglican Communion.
The primate of the 2 million-member Episcopal Church made her first official visit as a guest of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, which is less than half the size it was before a 2008 split. On Tuesday in Wilkinsburg she witnessed the annual Holy Week renewal of vows by three dozen clergy, calling them to reach out to those who suffer.
She reiterated the value of reaching out to each other during a forum Tuesday evening in Trinity Cathedral, Downtown.
"We have need of everyone," she said. "We will continue to be in relationships with everyone who wants to be in relationships with us."
More than 150 people, many of them church leaders, attended the forum, which followed a short service. The bishop took questions from those in attendance, some of whom shared concern about the future of the church.
Bishop Jefferts Schori expressed optimism and confidence in the growth of "a thinking church" that embraces new voices and technologies to spread its message.
"Love God and love your neighbor as yourself," she said. "When we pay attention to the hungry people outside our doors, when we pay attention to the poverty and injustice that is around us, we soon discover that there are more important things than differences in doctrine."
One woman asked when there might be healing in the diocese.
"I see healing going on now," the bishop said. "But full healing won't come to us until the Second Coming. ... When we stay stuck in suffering, it's hard to heal."
The bishop, who is married with a daughter in the Air Force, spoke of visiting a parish filled with military families. Many faced deployment, and some bore visible wounds of war.
In that church, "I think I saw Jesus showing his wounds. ... I saw many reaching out to touch him and others still looking," she said.
"The world is hungry for the light of Christ and aching to see the love of Christ in human flesh. ... It can be painful and difficult work on the road to Calvary and carrying bodies to the tomb. But it is the way of Resurrection."
First Published April 20, 2011 12:00 am
